New things!

I'll christen this forum *sprinkles holy water*

Hooray.

New stuff...

First one falls under the Sumatran Coffee Pot category.

Put the patches on the left arm of my "black metal jacket". I'm not aiming to cram as many as possible on or just throw them on. I'm trying to plan it out bit by bit, so it's not by any means complete, but it's getting there. I'm trying to work with the way the jacket naturally bends and is shaped to justify the patch placement, etc. I can say my sewing skills have greatly improved since I started on it about a year ago and some of them are starting to look pretty good. Sewing through the leather can be kinda tricky/a pain in the ***, but I've found a great needle, a thimble that fits my Gollum fingers, and I have loads of great music and a couple days now and then where I can sit and think things through and work on it. Hey, it's my idea of a good time! It needs studs (not sure what kind, but I'm trying to think of something different) and a couple more patches (I want a Watain one to stick under the Bathory patch really bad).



Foot shown for scale. Didn't know that was in there, but since my feet are so lovely, I decided to not retake it because my appendages are so gorgeous.

So it's Immortal (One By One from Sons of Northern Darkness ), Marduk (Rom 5:12, their latest album-themed patch, with the Skeleton archers from the art), and Dark Funeral (the quintessential "5 names for Satan and a pentagram" black metal patch! ) on the left sleeve, a Bathory Mjoelnir back patch (months after I sewed it on, I found a Watain patch that I wanted much more, but too late! Still looks cool...so I got the Watain back patch, but I'll have to have it on something else). On The right arm, there's a Morbid Angel pentagram (their symbol that appears somewhere on every one of their album covers) and a Carpathian Forest "goat head" patch...since IT'S DARKER THAN YOU THINK!!! hahahaha...I'll shut up

I have another Dark Throne patch that I have no idea where to stick...have to think about that.

Next,



I can't wait to see how it works! I'm working on it. If all goes as planned, it will be done by the end of the day tomorrow! Then I can deliberate on what I want the other channel to be. A P pickup? A MusicMan? Another X2N/X2N-7? A Lundgren Meshuggah pickup? Dunno...also have to figure out a clever jack plate. I like those deep panel stereo jacks a lot. The other ones feel to chintzy and they come loose and stuff on you. Just kinda a pain in the pickle. It had a really lame stereo locking jack (never buy one and avoid basses with them...horrible connection and a lot more trouble than they're worth) and so there's a big hole in the side of the bass that I'll probably expand to accommodate another jack and then cover that opening with a large piece of something and have both jacks directly attached to it and that screwed on to the body (like a Rickenbacker. I figure this way, it'll be easier to access the jacks and wiring as well, if needs be).

And the most exciting to me:



The Mesa! It's big! It's loud! It sounds fuggin' awesome!!! No other bass amp I've tried sounds that good. Damn...not to mention the fact that it's heavy. It leaves me winded after I move it anywhere, just the strain from keeping me ramming it into anything and it's bulk. But it's SO worth it

Awesome, Martin! Great toys you have there!

And yes....the added bonus of your foot in the shot really adds quite a lot of....something.

EricHaven wrote:

Awesome, Martin! Great toys you have there!

Why thank you! *bows mildly in acknowledgment*

EricHaven wrote:

And yes....the added bonus of your foot in the shot really adds quite a lot of....something.

We call it...funk

Man my spelling has gone to pot...this spell checker is mopping up my dribbles left and right!

Tell me about it! I used to know how to spell....but that was back in 1984....I think.

It's only when I type, though!

Cool stuff!

I remember this guy that posted some things for sale on ebay, and his foot was in the photo similar to yours, except there was this giant piece of belly button lint stuck to one of his toes I emailed him asking what the starting bid was on the toenail fuzzy

Thanks, mang!!

Hahaha!! That's great...yeah you gotta watch it sometimes, but I figured we're all friendly here, so you might let a little Brendecke foot fuzz slide.

Some awesome lookin' stuff!


When you gonna get that Ibby done?

EricHaven wrote:

Tell me about it! I used to know how to spell....but that was back in 1984....I think.

I don't even know how to spell 1948........ dammint, its wrong, aint it!

1948? 1984? Um....I think it's something like neinteanateyfore....or forteyate....or something like that....

from someone who does commercial embroidery, and has seen some of the hack jobs that people have done trying to sew a patch on so they brought it to me to fix it, your job sewing those patches on is awesome. good job.

sewing on leather. you definately need to get a heavier needle like an 8/60. i use 11/75's on my machine for normal sewing and go to a 10/70 for leather, rubber and canvas. also chek the diff between ball point and sharp needles. you cant use ball points on leather at all. ball points push the fibers of the material to either side so it doesnt shred. leather doesnt necessicarily have fibers so you need to poke thru it. most needles are ball point because most sewing is done on fiber materials (cotton, linen, wool, burlap, etc.).

now we're just having a knitting circle.

mesa, mesa, mesa.

my gallien kruger, cheap, bottom of the line, underpowered amphead is starting to short out. its been a great head but the sound leaves something to be desired (too solid state sounding ... great for effects sounds but not very warm in the clean channel). funny how the speaker outs are crackley and the pots are starting to go just as the warranty runs out on this thing. eh ... i got it for $200.

i resorted back to my first amphead. i've had many since and they have come and gone, but for some reason, i still have this one. its humungous and weighs a ton like that mesa, but it only outputs 150W @ 4 ohms. its a peavey xp series 300. i plugged it in and was realy suprised by the tone. mathmaticly it doesnt work out ... 150W into 600W of speakers @ 4 ohms (solid state) but it sounds awesome with the upgraded eminence deltas i'm using. i can crank this head up 3/4 of the way with no distortion whatsoever although ... it doesnt get any louder past half, and i can run the input levels from my processor higher (for that more attack sound) without clipping. weird. i think peavey gets a bum wrap ... my experience thus far has yielded some quality products at a decent price.

but i still want higher end.

i decided to bite the bullet and put off getting a new bass. i'm just gonna go right to mesa and give them my specs and see what rig they recommend. its just something that i dont wanna mess around with anymore except for maybe including a preamp someday. i want a rig thats car trunkable but more than enuff power i'll ever need. i also want cabs that are specificly engineered for a particular head insted of playing the hit or miss game. i also want that tubey sound (that i havent had for a while) but a rig that can handle the effects with a solid state end ... tube preamp possibly? amp modeling?

iddid be funny if they recommend that 400 head you got.

have you ever considered a regular power amp in the 700-1000 watt range Mike?

After I got rid of my 400+ and started using my Carvin or QSC PA power amp with effects pedals, I don't miss it a bit.

basically that's it... bass into a pedal into a small 4 channel mixer for EQing into the amp into the cabs.

if MESA IS your thing which it was mine for many years, and you don't want an amp from them, look into the cabs at the very least, cause a good amp and junk cab will = junk sound.

i totally agree about junk cabs = junk sound. i see tons of guys using hartke ... no thanks. i use a hartke 2x10 but it doesnt have sampson speakers in it ... i put eminence in there so it sounds good.

i'm definately looking at everything mesa. as far as cabinets go ... they have the best sound, with the most wattage for the least volume of cabinet space. the only other that i saw that compares is ear candy cabs ... expensive and limited products. also, the mesa heads i've played ALL sounded good to me ... better than gk, ampeg or swr. the others that sounded better, ashdown, david eden, hughes and kettner or laney, were all way too expensive. i'm looking for a good sounding amphead here, not something i can drive or live in!!!

i'm also looking at another new cabinet line ... they offer a 2x10 with a 2x12 down angle 4x cabinet @ 600W .... thats perfect! why did it take so long for someone to figure that out?!? i forget what they're called ... i'll find it and post it. i gotta do some research to see if they are the right size and make sure they arent junk.

i just want a rig thats a complete package that can be provided to me along with some customer service ... hartke, ibanez, gk and ampeg have all been pretty non - purchasing product supportive. i'll let you know how mesa treats me. i just want to talk to a rep about what i'm looking for and them say, "you want a da da da, with a da da da da da .... we'll take care of that for you ....." i want a bass rig that i'm proud that i play thru ... not one where i rip all the company logo emblems off the thing (i got a box full of hartke, fender, ibanez and peavey logos).

i dont know if they are "new" or not ... i just never seen them before ......

http://bass-guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Schroeder-210212-Regular-Bass-Cabinet-?sku=484872

Darkstrike wrote:

Some awesome lookin' stuff!


When you gonna get that Ibby done?

Thanks, man! I got done with cutting that wood out of there this evening. I decided not to bother with the bridge position for a couple reasons. The width of the pole pieces just doesn't look wide enough to me, as you can see in these photos, it's barely enough to cover where I put it in the neck position.





As you can see, I did a pretty hack job at it. My Dremel bits are getting pretty dull and I've been pretty pressed for time lately. The reason the pickup's a little fucocktid to the strings is because I just didn't drill the screw holes evenly and so it's a little slanted...but that's easy to fix if I want. Shouldn't matter as it already looks pretty tacky, but it looks and feels better than it did before to me at least haha

I got as many parts as possible at Guitar Satan (500K pot, a jack, jackplates (that won't work for this one. I'm thinking of using the Gibson LP-style jack plates instead of the football ones), a pickup ring (it was shiny, but I don't think I'm going to use it on this one, either. It would look sick on my Destroyer! Mmh chrome), and an on-on-on mini switch for of ze coil tapping and whatnot. Found some schematics online (looks like a pretty badass site for someone like me who's interested in electrical work): http://www.1728.com/guitar.htm

What I have left to get before this is complete: correct gauge wire, jack plates, another jack (eventually, it will be in stereo), knobs (gotta look pretty!), maybe a black bezel to make things feel a bit nicer, another pickup, and whatever needs to go with that. Some day, I think this bass would like a Kahler trem (the pre-existing bridge pieces are already kinda counter-sunk--something to help me get a foothold on installing one).

I must say, I've grown a new appreciation for this bass. I used to think of it as a POS, but once I got rid of those electronics, I dig it for what it is, a shredding tone monster that challenges me and supports me in just the right ways to help me improve and work well. I always go back to it to practice and noodle, but the thing that kept me from loving it was the crappy pickups. Already, I feel more at home on it, since it isn't just any BTB, but it's mine. You have to take ownership of your instruments, I think. The finish is tough as nails and hides blemishes really well, which I have no problem with! So more to come with this bass.

Also, I tend to prefer the sound of pickups closer to the neck. I'm starting to get irritated at stuff too close to the bridge. It just sounds to thin to my ears. Maybe that's the way the bass pickups are voiced or something...but I'll give this a try and see what happens. I jammed with a drummer friend of mine the other day and I was using his guitar amp and going direct into his mixer and some badass Yamaha speakers and I just couldn't get loud enough. Never again. I'm sick of playing poorly and of not being loud enough. Having this bass is the best help I have and hopefully, this pickup will help me get a bit of a moral boost.

madmike wrote:

from someone who does commercial embroidery, and has seen some of the hack jobs that people have done trying to sew a patch on so they brought it to me to fix it, your job sewing those patches on is awesome. good job.

sewing on leather. you definately need to get a heavier needle like an 8/60. i use 11/75's on my machine for normal sewing and go to a 10/70 for leather, rubber and canvas. also chek the diff between ball point and sharp needles. you cant use ball points on leather at all. ball points push the fibers of the material to either side so it doesnt shred. leather doesnt necessicarily have fibers so you need to poke thru it. most needles are ball point because most sewing is done on fiber materials (cotton, linen, wool, burlap, etc.).

now we're just having a knitting circle.

mesa, mesa, mesa.

my gallien kruger, cheap, bottom of the line, underpowered amphead is starting to short out. its been a great head but the sound leaves something to be desired (too solid state sounding ... great for effects sounds but not very warm in the clean channel). funny how the speaker outs are crackley and the pots are starting to go just as the warranty runs out on this thing. eh ... i got it for $200.

i resorted back to my first amphead. i've had many since and they have come and gone, but for some reason, i still have this one. its humungous and weighs a ton like that mesa, but it only outputs 150W @ 4 ohms. its a peavey xp series 300. i plugged it in and was realy suprised by the tone. mathmaticly it doesnt work out ... 150W into 600W of speakers @ 4 ohms (solid state) but it sounds awesome with the upgraded eminence deltas i'm using. i can crank this head up 3/4 of the way with no distortion whatsoever although ... it doesnt get any louder past half, and i can run the input levels from my processor higher (for that more attack sound) without clipping. weird. i think peavey gets a bum wrap ... my experience thus far has yielded some quality products at a decent price.

but i still want higher end.

i decided to bite the bullet and put off getting a new bass. i'm just gonna go right to mesa and give them my specs and see what rig they recommend. its just something that i dont wanna mess around with anymore except for maybe including a preamp someday. i want a rig thats car trunkable but more than enuff power i'll ever need. i also want cabs that are specificly engineered for a particular head insted of playing the hit or miss game. i also want that tubey sound (that i havent had for a while) but a rig that can handle the effects with a solid state end ... tube preamp possibly? amp modeling?

iddid be funny if they recommend that 400 head you got.

Thanks, man! That means a lot coming from you. I see so many half-assed sewing jobs on leather jackets. Since it's an ultimate statement about me (just as everyone else's jacket is a statement about them), I want it to reflect how high I hold integrity and my personality...and I'm not going to **** it up. So I try to place the patches as gracefully and imposingly as possible and place them in spots where they lay well and don't land in folds, etc. So I take my time and make sure that if I need to pull out a stitch one, two, three, four, or more times before I get it right, so will it be, if it makes it work out in the end. I use kinda slippery, thicker nylon black thread and a needle that tapers the right amount, but isn't too flimsy, so that I can pull the patches tightly over the leather and I think it yields a pleasing result. The back patch, I sewed the extra fabric back onto the back of the patch because there are some areas too thick to use the machine on and I had to do by hand, so with the continuous stitch, I could run over it again and make it look and stretch even all the way around. Sewing is good at occupying my mind

My first amp was horrible. A Vietnampeg B2RE. So many people use them, but I couldn't for the life of me get it to sound good. No EQ setting could help it and the gain was so weak and it clipped so easily...mah I just got rid of it a moth ago and didn't care how much I got for it. Just glad to be rid of the thing.

I'm seriously considering a Carvin Mono Block amp one day. Heard one a couple times in a live situation and they sound TASTY. However, I am also intrigued by a pre/power amp idea. That sounds like it could be very rewarding.

I was at a concert last Friday and the bassist from one of the opening acts, a local band called Sword of Judgment (the bassist being a dude I kinda know from his former band who's a friend of a friend and a Guitar Satan salesperson at the Seattle GC) was using a Jackson custom shop Warrior bass with P/MM pickups using the MM singled out through a Mesa Boogie Titan V-12 into a Basson 8x10....wow. It sounded massive. The Mesa sound I hear in my 400+ is still there in the V-12, although I can imagine that the V-12 is much more versatile. Plus, it has two channels. For a couple solos/intros, he switched between the two...man, it was really cool. I'd recommending giving one of those a try, if you haven't already.

I find myself liking Mesa more and more...their stuff just seems to click with me. I'm sick of "investing" in crap. Time to give myself something nice and just save some money as well.

madmike wrote:

i totally agree about junk cabs = junk sound. i see tons of guys using hartke ... no thanks. i use a hartke 2x10 but it doesnt have sampson speakers in it ... i put eminence in there so it sounds good.

i'm definately looking at everything mesa. as far as cabinets go ... they have the best sound, with the most wattage for the least volume of cabinet space. the only other that i saw that compares is ear candy cabs ... expensive and limited products. also, the mesa heads i've played ALL sounded good to me ... better than gk, ampeg or swr. the others that sounded better, ashdown, david eden, hughes and kettner or laney, were all way too expensive. i'm looking for a good sounding amphead here, not something i can drive or live in!!!

i'm also looking at another new cabinet line ... they offer a 2x10 with a 2x12 down angle 4x cabinet @ 600W .... thats perfect! why did it take so long for someone to figure that out?!? i forget what they're called ... i'll find it and post it. i gotta do some research to see if they are the right size and make sure they arent junk.

i just want a rig thats a complete package that can be provided to me along with some customer service ... hartke, ibanez, gk and ampeg have all been pretty non - purchasing product supportive. i'll let you know how mesa treats me. i just want to talk to a rep about what i'm looking for and them say, "you want a da da da, with a da da da da da .... we'll take care of that for you ....." i want a bass rig that i'm proud that i play thru ... not one where i rip all the company logo emblems off the thing (i got a box full of hartke, fender, ibanez and peavey logos).

The thing I like about Mesa cabinets is that they have such variety and their variety fits my idea of what I want. For example, 4x12s? Nice! 4x10 and 1x15 in one cab? Bonus! Plus they have Speakon connectors. Get me a couple of each and I am one happy dude...

That Schroeder looks brutal! I've heard some great stuff about those cabs. I'd be interested in trying some of their wackier things out in person. Strange/different things like that intrigue me.

I recently got a pair of Peavey cabs with 1x18 and 2x10 in them. Still haven't gotten them back to my house (don't have anywhere to put them--they're pretty damn big!), but I tried my 400+ through one and it sounded nice, although it was at very low volume. I'm curious to see how they hold up at bistering levels, or if they just fart out on me. If they don't work out, no big loss--they didn't cost too much. It would be a good lesson for me to not buy as cheap of cabinets. But hopefully they work. Those and my Sunn could make a cool, vintage-y rig with a wide variety of speaker sizes.

I know what you mean! That's how I feel about Mesa as well...it's a solid name that I feel that I can comfortably speak through. In other words, it feels like my voice.

madmike wrote:

i totally agree about junk cabs = junk sound. i see tons of guys using hartke ... no thanks. i use a hartke 2x10 but it doesnt have sampson speakers in it ... i put eminence in there so it sounds good.

haha Mike I have one of those older Harke Transporter 4x10 with the silver cone speakers.. it DOES suck for bass!!!
( I paid 80.00 for it with the speakers installed so I don't care )

I use it as a midrange cab only which sits on top of my 1x15 Carvin for largel bar playing.

when I have a big show for me to hear myself, I just use 2 Yamaha stage monitors -- 1x15 with a horn tweeter each. My rack has 3 amps in it, so I have plenty of "watts" to choose what amp is gonna drive what speaker pair.

and for the outdoor stage volume shows, well, I'll have to take a picture of what I have stacked up for that purpose....( not as pretty as 4 4x12 marshall cabs stacked, but gets the job done ).

Sweet dude!


So, what do you make of the pickups sound itself?!

I can't wait to find out, Bill, but I have yet to get the proper gauge wire. Once I hit up Allparts and my package of goodies arrives, I'll let you know. So at the moment, the 4 connector lead just goes into the cavity and isn't hooked up to anything. Can't wait to find out how it works and if it works for me!

Chowderboots wrote:

I can't wait to find out, Bill, but I have yet to get the proper gauge wire. Once I hit up Allparts and my package of goodies arrives, I'll let you know. So at the moment, the 4 connector lead just goes into the cavity and isn't hooked up to anything. Can't wait to find out how it works and if it works for me!

For the time being, you can wire the 4 conductor straight on to the jack, in series, or parallel!

True dat, but I don't have the jackplates that I want, nor do I really have the time! So right now, it remains my kickass practice bass.

Ah well, be sorted soon enough!

Indeed! I could do a temporary wiring job, but it's just too much time that I don't have. So in a couple days, it'll be all done, I hope.